Chapter 20
“Don’t listen to her,” the chief detective said in a firm but reassuring tone.
As such, I didn’t pay attention to her threat. She could do her worst for all I cared. I was grateful the chief detective had succeeded in kicking her out of the room and taking her off the case. Now that she was no longer here, there was no one to influence his decision and prevent him from listening to me.
“Please chief, I need to get out of here. The doctor called to inform me my mother just died in the hospital. I need to go see her, identify her body and pay my last respects…she’s the only family I have left. Please don’t deny me this opportunity,” tears stung my eyes as I pleaded to him as my life depended on it. My mother’s dead image kept flashing in my mind and I struggled with everything in me to push it away.
His loud sigh hinted at the impossibility of that as he came closer and sat on the chair in front of me.
“Listen, Mrs. Wilson,” he said as I listened to him attentively. “The Wilson family is one of the most powerful families in the state. They put a lot of resources into finding whoever did this and you happen to be at the top of the list. If I let you go now, even for just a minute, I risk losing my job and being labelled as an accomplice. I can’t let you go. I hope you understand. Mothers are very important and I understand the pain that comes with losing one. As such, I will allow you to make a phone call to your siblings or anybody close to you that can go to the hospital in place of you and do the necessary things needed to be done for your mother.”
As difficult as it was, I nodded in understanding to his words and appreciated his kind gesture. At this point, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get the opportunity to see my mother’s corpse or even witness her funeral. It pained me deep in my soul knowing that. Knowing I had let her down and caused her death.
The chief detective gave me his phone since mine was broken. But they kept it safe for me till whenever I got out of the station. Jane was the only person I could think of calling. She was the only person I had in my life right now who didn’t hate me and could help me out.
After I explained everything to her including how Robert and I’s marriage was built on a cold contract, she was angry I had kept something so important from her and had been lying to her all these years. But most of all, she was shocked and felt very sorry for me over the death of my mother and the false murder accusation levelled against me. I was grateful and relieved she believed me even when no one else did. She agreed to go to the hospital in place of me and come visit me at the station once she was done.
I spent more than thirty minutes on the phone with Jane but the chief detective was kind enough not to bother. He waited patiently for me to finish.
“Thanks,” I said as I handed him back his phone. “You’ve been really good to me. I appreciate.”
“It’s nothing,” he said with a gentle, reassuring smile.
I watched as he put the phone away and then focused his attention on me.
“Your attorney has been notified. She will be here soon to help you start preparing for your defence. In the meantime, we will have to take you to the cell to wait because this room will be used to interrogate suspects in other cases. Once your attorney arrives, you will be briefed.”
Without hesitation, I nodded firmly in response to what he said and got up, ready to leave. As per standard protocol, I was cuffed. As he guided me outside the room, my heart nearly stopped seeing Robert.
His eyes were blazing like a fiery furnace on seeing me, his face crimson with rage. Right now, he hated more than anything in the world and wouldn’t want anything to do with me again. It hurt to the bones seeing the only man I love stare at me like that.
Beside him was none other than Scarlett. She was fancifully dressed and clinging to him like a handbag as usual, a triumphant smile on her face.
Martin was there too, staring at me the same way Robert was. He’d never since high school stared at me like that. I wish there was a way I could prove to him I didn’t do this.
“How could you be so heartless to do this?” Robert threw his words at me like stones. “After everything he had done for you. Because of him, I brought you into my life and gave you a job promotion. Because of him, you have something called a life. He treated you like a daughter and always praised you yet this is how you repay him? Words aren’t enough to express how much I hate you right now, Lily. I wish you never came into my life. I curse the day I set my eyes on you. We will make sure you pay severely for your actions no matter what it takes. I will take away everything from you and leave you with nothing but your broken self. By the time we are finished, you’ll be begging for your death to come quicker!”
This was the pinnacle of it. I don’t think anybody has ever said something so hurtful to me. The torment that came with his words was like a strong fist that clutched around my throat, choking me to the point of death as burning tears streamed down my cheeks.
“I can’t believe I cared for you and always wanted what’s best for you,” came Martin’s enraged voice, not waiting for me to recover from the impact of Robert’s words. “The thought of you now disgusts me. Lily means flower but you?… You’re nothing more than a murderer disguised as something delicate. If I can get my hands on you right now, I swear I’ll do to you what you did to him and more…”
With his fingers out and flexed, he approached menacingly as if to grab me by the throat but the chief detective came forward to stop him.
“Mr. Martin and Robert please control yourselves, you’re causing a scene. This is no place to behave like this. Let me remind these are serious threats that you’re making against the suspect. If anything happens to her, you might be held responsible.”
Martin glared at him but ignored him as if he didn’t speak. He looked over his shoulders towards me.
“For taking away someone that important from us, I hope that everything important in your life is taken away from you. You’re never getting away with this.”
As my helplessly pleading gaze locked onto his bloodshot eyes, I muttered some words with hopes he’d look into the depths of my eyes and see that I didn’t do this. I wanted him to recognize me as the same Lily he knew and cared about. “Martin…please believe me…I didn’t do…”
I didn’t finish as Scarlett’s venomous voice cut me off. “Who would have thought someone who looks so innocent is capable of murdering in cold blood? Right from the first time I saw her, I knew something was off about her. Thank goodness I’m not the only one seeing it now. With how well she executed the murder, it’s obvious she has been doing this for long. Tell us, who was next on your murder list before your plans failed?”
“Were you planning on killing Robert next for kicking out of the company because you tried to sabotage it or his mother for not accepting you as her true daughter-in-law?” Martin asked accusingly.
Their voices all combined, creating disturbing noises that echoed in my head. I thought I also heard something like a siren wailing and news reporters outside the station calling my name. It was all driving me to the edge of losing my sanity. If they continued, then I’d only be a moment away from blacking out.
“Please detective, take me out of here,” I nudged the detective lightly, pleading as my head spun and my tears blurred my vision.
He gave a firm nod and shouted, “That’s enough! I ask that you leave the station immediately so we can carry on with our work.”
“We’re not going anyway until she signs this!” Robert came forward with a gruesome expression on his face, rudely pushing the detective out of the way.